happened. All he’d told Davis was that he needed to get back to Brightly—immediately.
Now the two of them stepped into the living room, lit by warm lamplight that couldn’t quite chase away the shadows that lingered in Nasser’s mind. His hands were still shaking.
“Don’t worry about it,” Lee said. “It’s all taken care of.”
“I need to know what happened,” he insisted, striding toward her. “Filo—”
She touched his arm. “It’s all right. He’s okay .”
Those two words were exactly what he needed to hear. The nervous buzzing in his skull began to dull. “What happened?”
“He… sort of got pulled into the water by a mermaid, but—”
“He what? ”
“ But ,” Lee said, “he is fine. Henry fished him out of the water. He’s downstairs, asleep. He’s completely fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Easy for you to say,” Nasser muttered, rubbing his eyes. His head was starting to pulse uncomfortably. No stinging spots of light flashed across his vision, so he knew it wasn’t the beginning of a migraine. It was a garden-variety stress headache.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Davis stood near the stairs, eyeing Nasser warily.
“I’m all right. I am now, anyway.”
Davis pressed his mouth into a thin, determined line. “You had a seizure .”
Lee’s gaze flickered to Nasser, uneasy, but she turned to Davis. “I’ll take care of him. Get some sleep. You look like you need it.”
For a moment, Davis just looked between them. Then he nodded and headed upstairs.
“Where is everyone?” Nasser asked.
“In bed. I was waiting for you to get back, so you’d know what happened.” Her eyes darkened and she dropped her voice to a whisper. “You had a seizure?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t that bad,” he added immediately, but she shook her head and grabbed the front of his shirt.
“Don’t say that. Don’t pretend like it’s not a big deal.”
“It’s not.”
But that was a lie, and they both knew it. Lee didn’t press the subject further, but he knew what she was thinking: Normal people don’t physically feel when their loved ones are in danger, and they definitely don’t have seizures because of it.
Nasser didn’t know what caused the seizures. When the shaking stopped and his head cleared, he felt about as normal as he ever did—and that was what scared him. That feeling of normalcy could easily be masking some other condition. As far as he knew, each seizure was damaging his brain or body in some way that might not be apparent for years.
“One second.” Lee slipped into the kitchen and returned with a mug of tea, which he accepted gratefully. Then she took him by the hand and led him over to the couch. Tucking her legs beneath her, she turned to him. “Okay. Tell me what happened.”
He took several deep drinks so he wouldn’t have to answer right away. “About the seizure?”
“If you want. But that’s not the only thing bothering you, is it?”
He shook his head. “Davis and I were supposed to go from house to house, checking on the people still on the island. I took two steps into the first house, and I lost it.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not a sickness. That’s how it’s manifesting, but it’s not a normal illness. There’s no bacteria or virus making this happen. Magic is doing this. It’s some kind of curse.”
She froze. “Are you sure?”
“I could feel it. Once I was inside the first house, I ran straight into that magic. It’s overwhelming. It’s no wonder none of the treatments Davis came up with had any effect. It’s not that there’s something wrong with the victims’ bodies. They’re not sick. They’re being manipulated by magic.”
“So it’s not a matter of curing the people, is it?”
“No. It’s a matter of studying the curse, figuring out how it’s constructed, then breaking it into pieces.”
“Can you do that?”
“Between all of us? I think we can manage it.”
But he wasn’t fully
Now the two of them stepped into the living room, lit by warm lamplight that couldn’t quite chase away the shadows that lingered in Nasser’s mind. His hands were still shaking.
“Don’t worry about it,” Lee said. “It’s all taken care of.”
“I need to know what happened,” he insisted, striding toward her. “Filo—”
She touched his arm. “It’s all right. He’s okay .”
Those two words were exactly what he needed to hear. The nervous buzzing in his skull began to dull. “What happened?”
“He… sort of got pulled into the water by a mermaid, but—”
“He what? ”
“ But ,” Lee said, “he is fine. Henry fished him out of the water. He’s downstairs, asleep. He’s completely fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Easy for you to say,” Nasser muttered, rubbing his eyes. His head was starting to pulse uncomfortably. No stinging spots of light flashed across his vision, so he knew it wasn’t the beginning of a migraine. It was a garden-variety stress headache.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Davis stood near the stairs, eyeing Nasser warily.
“I’m all right. I am now, anyway.”
Davis pressed his mouth into a thin, determined line. “You had a seizure .”
Lee’s gaze flickered to Nasser, uneasy, but she turned to Davis. “I’ll take care of him. Get some sleep. You look like you need it.”
For a moment, Davis just looked between them. Then he nodded and headed upstairs.
“Where is everyone?” Nasser asked.
“In bed. I was waiting for you to get back, so you’d know what happened.” Her eyes darkened and she dropped her voice to a whisper. “You had a seizure?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t that bad,” he added immediately, but she shook her head and grabbed the front of his shirt.
“Don’t say that. Don’t pretend like it’s not a big deal.”
“It’s not.”
But that was a lie, and they both knew it. Lee didn’t press the subject further, but he knew what she was thinking: Normal people don’t physically feel when their loved ones are in danger, and they definitely don’t have seizures because of it.
Nasser didn’t know what caused the seizures. When the shaking stopped and his head cleared, he felt about as normal as he ever did—and that was what scared him. That feeling of normalcy could easily be masking some other condition. As far as he knew, each seizure was damaging his brain or body in some way that might not be apparent for years.
“One second.” Lee slipped into the kitchen and returned with a mug of tea, which he accepted gratefully. Then she took him by the hand and led him over to the couch. Tucking her legs beneath her, she turned to him. “Okay. Tell me what happened.”
He took several deep drinks so he wouldn’t have to answer right away. “About the seizure?”
“If you want. But that’s not the only thing bothering you, is it?”
He shook his head. “Davis and I were supposed to go from house to house, checking on the people still on the island. I took two steps into the first house, and I lost it.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not a sickness. That’s how it’s manifesting, but it’s not a normal illness. There’s no bacteria or virus making this happen. Magic is doing this. It’s some kind of curse.”
She froze. “Are you sure?”
“I could feel it. Once I was inside the first house, I ran straight into that magic. It’s overwhelming. It’s no wonder none of the treatments Davis came up with had any effect. It’s not that there’s something wrong with the victims’ bodies. They’re not sick. They’re being manipulated by magic.”
“So it’s not a matter of curing the people, is it?”
“No. It’s a matter of studying the curse, figuring out how it’s constructed, then breaking it into pieces.”
“Can you do that?”
“Between all of us? I think we can manage it.”
But he wasn’t fully
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